Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 300,300 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 392,848 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 300,300 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $44,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after acquiring an additional 6,628,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $635,056,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $133.72. 1,861,479 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,076,885. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.